D.C. United Academy Playoffs: Day One

The D.C. United U-18s and U-16s are in Westfield, IN for the United States Soccer Development Academy Playoffs this week. The U-18s played their first game against Shattuck-Saint Mary’s on Monday, June 23 at 10 a.m.

United’s U-18s opened up the scoring in the 18th minute after Bashir Hooper flicked a ball on to a streaking Jimmy Filerman, who trapped the ball off his chest, turned his defender and beat the goalkeeper. Shattuck answered a mere two minutes later to tie the score up at 1-1. Right before the end of the half, Umarr Bangura was taken down in the penalty area. Filerman stepped up and put away the penalty to give United the 2-1 lead going into halftime.

The temperature of the game continued to rise in the second half as both teams battled the heat and level of physicality. Shattuck converted a penalty kick in the 55th minute to tie the game again. Both teams pushed to gain the upper hand, but the game was at a stalemate until the final two minutes. Shattuck broke through the United defense and went ahead 3-2 in the 89th minute. United had a few final opportunities and a missed penalty call in the dying minutes, but they eventually fell to Shattuck-Saint Mary’s.

The D.C. United U-18s play their second game on today, June 24 against New York Red Bulls at 12:15 p.m. The U-16s will play their first game against Concorde Fire at 2:30 p.m. on the same day. Follow along at @DCUyouth for real time updates and check out photos from the event here.